A Redhaired Trio
by Silver Sparklze
Summary: A bunch of [8] stories about Fred, George, and their little sister Ginny. Sweet little moments.The seventh and eighth story are rated K plus, the rest suitable for everyone. [COMPLETE]
1. Two In One

Title: Two in One

Summary: Fred and George Weasley are different, yet the same.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the idea.

Author's Notes: An almost-drabble. 129 words. Don't know how I thought this up.

Sometimes, they were so alike, that even Mum couldn't tell them apart.

Other times, they were completely different, like when Ginny turned four and decided she liked George to be the dragon, but Fred had to be the prince.

And then, there were the in between times, like when Fred decided he liked Angelina, and George decided he liked Alicia. As different as night and day in looks, but ultimately similar in personality. Both liked Quidditch and dancing and the dark of the moon, but Angelina had freckles on her nose and one of Alicia's eyes was brown, the other hazel.

They were identical twins, and even their thoughts were the same, but only Ginny treated them like they were two people and one person at the same time.

End


	2. Understand

Title: Understand

Summary: Out of all her brothers, they're the ones who really understand her.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the idea.

Author's Notes: I just think there's more to the twins than meets the eye.

They're like a mirror, but a funhouse mirror, every time you look a different reflection gleams back at you. But she knows, if you count, Fred has one less freckle on his nose than George, and that George has a scar from falling off his broomstick behind his left ear.

She knows that while everyone thinks they're just funny and have no deeper feelings, George can read Shakespeare with the best of them, and Fred tells great bedtime stories and hugs her when she wakes up from a nightmare.

George is better for tickles, and Fred for kisses. They both like to play pony with her, and when she was five they took her down to Otter River for her birthday and taught her to swim like a mermaid with her hair streaming under the water, glinting like copper in the sun and curly in a way it never was when she wasn't swimming.

They were the only ones who listened when she said she wanted to learn to fly on a broom, and the only ones willing to teach her how to be a great Chaser, and even though they're Beaters, they did a good job because they watch more than people think they do.

That's why they knew when that boy at school teased her about her freckles and hair, and they taught her how to hurt him back so that she didn't ever get teased again.

Out of all her brothers, they're the ones who really understand her, which is weird, because Ron is the one she plays with when they're at Hogwarts.

End


	3. Fight

Title: Fight.

Summary: Ginny's upset. Fred and George help her deal with her problem.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the idea.

Author's Notes: A spin off of 'Understood'. Written because noctuabunda tolded me to.

Five-year-old Ginny Weasley stumbled in the door, sobbing and rubbing her eyes on her sleeve. She didn't look like her head was on fire! She didn't!

"Something wrong, Gin-kin?" Fred asked, doing his homework with singular-minded intensity. George was colouring a complicated mess of scribbles on the carpet next to him.

"I don't look like my heads on fire. An' my freckles don' look like chicken pox." She choked, cheeks flushed with the force of her rubbing. There was a fabric-imprint just below her eye that played join-the-dots with her freckles.

"Er…yes?" George said, sounding unconvinced.

"No!" A shriek loud enough to disturb the ghoul, who began rattling his chains.

"Shh, of course not." Sun-kissed arms opened and the little girl hurtled into her brother's embrace, while George rearranged himself to hug both his brother and his sister, completing the odd tangle of limbs.

"Now, who upset our ickle Gin-kin an' made her cry?" George cooed sappily, causing the child in question to giggle and poke him.

"This mean boy in my class. And I don't!"

"Ginny-winny, all us Weasleys have fire-red hair." Fred pointed out. "It's what makes us special. The colour of our hair shows we're loved."

A sniffle. "It does?" Ginny's voice was quieter than usual, desperately seeking reassurance.

"Sure! It's like…the colour of our hair shows our feelings. The Malfoy gits have icey blonde hair, shows they don't have any. We have bright red hair, which shows we're…" George trailed off for a moment, trying to think of the word Mum had used to explain it to him not long ago. "Passionate." Yes, that was it.

"Oh. But what about the freckles? I don' look like I gots no pox!"

"No, you don't, Gin-kin. Our freckles mean the sun loves us. They're called sun kisses sometimes." George soothed.

Well…" Ginny screwed her face up, pouting. "I still don't like him teasing me! He said I was scrawny an' ugly an' a weak little cry baby girl an' I'm not!"

"He's a boy, boys are stupid." Fred said placidly (thus proving his point).

"How about we teach you to fight so you can show him you're not weak. Then he won't tease you anymore." George said, glaring at his twin warningly. There was a thin line between comforting their little sister and making derogatory marks about their sex.

Ginny jumped up, inadvertently kneeing George in the stomach and elbowing Fred in the face. "Okay!"

The twins got up slowly, rubbing their respective injuries.

"This won't take long." George muttered.

* * *

The next day she skipped home from school.

"Well?" Fred asked.

George just stood there, one _red_ eyebrow raised.

Ginny smiled happily. "He doesn't think I'm scrawny no more."

The twins laughed, and hoisted her onto their shoulders, evenly balanced.

"Well done, Gin-kin."

End


	4. Comfort

Title: Comfort

Summary: Ginny has a nightmare. Fred comforts her. Set after COS.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the idea.

Author's Notes: A spinoff from 'Understand'. Written because 'Not-that-kinda-girl' on asked me to. Also written because my four-year-old sister had a nightmare last night and crept into my bed.

* * *

_"Silly girl! Did you ever think Harry Potter would ever care for you? He doesn't even notice you!" Tom (who she now knew to be Lord Voldemort,) sneered._

_"That's not true!" Ginny cried. "He saved me from you!"_

_"Because he's friends with your brother. Not out of any affection for YOU! How could anyone care about you?"_

_"My parents do! They came to Hogwarts when they found out!"_

_"And were horrified when they realised you'd been helping me. They haven't let you out all summer, have they? They're scared of what you might do."_

_"That's not true!"_

_"Yes it is, you know it is. They don't want you to use the power you can feel growing inside you. A power we two share…"_

_With horror, Ginny watched as a snake slithered towards her._

_Hello, Ginny. It hissed._

_She understood it._

_"NO!"

* * *

_

"NO!" Ginny sat upright in bed, panting. She could understand snakes! Oh, Merlin, she could understand snakes. He'd made her a parselmouth!

She could feel the unwanted power nestled deep within her mind, just waiting for a chance to stir.

Resting her head on her white nightgown-covered knees, she began to cry.

The door creaked open, a freckled face poking in. The usually cheerful face was drawn tight in concern, and Fred slid the rest of his body in through the small space, before closing the door so no one else would hear the preteen's sobbing.

"Gin-kin, are you alright?" He asked, walking over to the bed and sitting down.

Ginny threw herself into her older brother's lap, burying her head in his shoulder. The comforting smell of Fred; male, burnt curtains, and sleepy sweat, comforted her in a way nothing else could. "I had a nightmare. Fred, I'm a parselmouth."

"Shh," Fred stroked her hair. "How do you know?"

"I dreamed it."

"Well, then, it mightn't be true, might it? And if it is, that doesn't matter. We'll still love you the same, because you're our precious Ginny-winny."

"Am I?" Ginny raised her wet face to look in Fred's eyes. "Am I really?"

The hazel orbs were full of nothing but honesty. "Of course, Gin. We all love you. We don't care that you were hoodwinked by You-Know-Who. It's not your fault. You're just a little girl."

Ginny sighed and rested her head on his shoulder again. "Ok. I love you, too."

A light kiss was dropped on her matted hair. "I know. Now, time to go back to sleep."

She clutched at his pyjamas. "No! Don't go!"

"Shh, I won't. I'll stay right here."

"I wanna sleep with you an' George tonight."

A low chuckle and she was scooped up into strong arms that would always hold her, no matter how big she got. "Alright, let's get going, then. Who knows what mischief my twin's gotten into."

Ginny giggled, in spite of herself. "But he's asleep!"

"And that'd stop him?"

End


	5. Leaving

Title: Leaving

Summary: They'd abandon her, just like all the others before them.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the idea.

Author's Notes: Another spin off of 'Understand'.

* * *

She'd known it would happen one day.

They'd abandon her, just like all the others before them.

She just hadn't expected it to be TODAY.

"But why do you have to go?" She sobbed into their shirts as they surrounded her in a hug. She clung to them like a limpet, they couldn't leave if she held them!

"Because, Gin-kin, we're gonna be wizards. And when you come to Hogwarts you can learn magic with us and be part of our pranking team, ok?" George said.

"But for that to happen you have to let go of us." Fred finished.

Sniffling, she let go, staring stubbornly at the ground, refusing to see her brothers with their crisp white shirts, neatly ironed grey slacks and faded robes. It wasn't fair! Now five of them were gone and only Ron was left!

"We'll see you at Christmas, ok, Gin?" Fred asked. "We'll make snow angels and snowmen together, and make chocolate slushies with the snow and hot chocolate."

Reluctantly, Ginny looked up. "Promise?"

"We promise."

"Ok."

She couldn't wait until Christmas.

End


	6. Baby

Title: Baby

Summary: Baby. Fred knocked over the tower in disgust. He didn't need no more brothers!

Enter Ginny Weasley, Stage Right.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the idea.

Author's Notes: Meh, so tired and so sick...

* * *

Fred Weasley looked up from the blocks he was playing with when his Mummy dropped onto one of the sofas, groaning. 

"Dear me," she said, "it's only noon and my back's already aching."

Fred bit his lip, shooting a look at his twin, who nodded, knowing exactly what he was thinking.

Baby.

Last year, Mummy had said the same thing, and then stinky Ron had come along.

Fred knocked over the tower in disgust.

He didn't need no more brothers! There was Bill, in his last year of elementary school before Hogwarts, and Charlie, who was _always_ playing on that stupid toy broom, and _Percy_ who thought he was _so smart_, just 'cos he was in kindergarten and could _read_ and was _four years old, a big boy_ while he and George were the second youngest, and only two.

"Mummy, why is your back sore? D'you need us to kiss it bett'r?" George asked, blue eyes innocently wide.

Mummy laughed. "I spent all of yesterday hauling boxes into the attic, Georgie, so of course my back hurts."

George nodded. "'Kay." He looked over at Fred.

Quickly, Fred spoke up. "Mummy, we're hungry."

A thin wail was heard from upstairs.

"Sounds like Ronnie's hungry too, Freddie." Mummy grinned. "I'll feed him, then you." As she headed upstairs, George kicked the primary-coloured blocks.

"More babies." He said bitterly.

"No." Fred replied stubbornly. "Not this time. No more brothers for us."

"What we gonna do?"

"Dunno, yet." Fred began to pile the blocks back up again. "But I'll t'ink of somethin'."

* * *

"Ok," Fred said after dinner that night while they splashed in the bath. Percy was 'sposed to be watching them, but he was doing his _homework_ instead. Not that the twins cared. "I gots an idea." 

"Hmm?" The dinosaur George was playing with flew through the air. "Vroom vroom..."

"Well, the stork puts the baby in Mummy, right? So...Mummy ain't fat yet. We gots her just in time. So we just wait up ev'ry night 'til the stork comes, an' we tell him we don't want the baby. We don't need no more brothers."

"Ok. Verooom...veroom."

* * *

"Fred." George whispered that night. 

"Wha'? 'M tired." Fred groaned.

"We're s'posed to be stayin' up, 'member?"

"Oh yeah..." Fred did his best to wake up, then scrambled out of his bed and into George's.

"Whatcha doin'?"

"I'll stay awake better with you next to me." Fred replied drowsily, already drifting back off.

"M'kay."

The next thing the twins knew, it was morning, and Mummy was downstairs, humming along to the radio.

"More coffee, Arthur, dear?" They heard her ask, clear as if she was in the room with them.

The twins didn't know why, but they could always hear what people were saying if they wanted to. Or if they were tired.

"Yes, love." Daddy answered merrily.

"We fell 'sleep." George said glumly.

Fred nodded. "An' we're too late. Mummy an' Daddy are doin' their happiness thing 'gain."

"Like they did Hal'ween last year?"

"'Zactly like that."

George got up, rubbing his eyes sleepily. "Guess we gots a new brother comin'."

"Well I'm gonna tell Mummy an' Daddy we don't _want_ no brother." Fred announced.

"No, Mummy would cry and Daddy would get mad. I don't want Daddy to get mad with you, Fred." His twin said sternly.

Fred sighed. "_O_kay. Just for you."

* * *

Nine months passed, and neither twin grew any more excited over the prospect of _another_ screaming baby brother. Their third birthday came and went, as did Ron's first. Just as Percy's fifth was approaching, Mummy's fat tummy got even bigger, and one day she called Daddy at work and told him the 'little one' was coming. 

Everything had been a rush of activity, then. Bill, getting ready for Hogwarts, threw aside his books and sent a fire-call to something called a middle wife.

"Is a middle wife someone who looks at your tummy?" Fred had asked, George nodding encouragingly next to him, "'coz Mummy's tummy looks like it's 'bout to 'splode."

Bill had just shot the pair an irritated look and called for Charlie.

Charlie abandoned his broom to hustle Percy and the twins outside, and even had an apple-throwing contest with them. Ron cried and cried, with no one answering him.

And then, two hours later, there was another Weasley, and the middle wife was leaving, looking very smug.

They were all hustled inside to see him.

"What's his name, Daddy?" George asked shyly, looking at his newest brother, for some reason wrapped in a pink blanket.

Brown eyes blinked back at him, and a tiny pink mouth opened in a yawn. Unlike Ron, this one didn't cry.

"_Her_ name is Ginevra Molly Weasley." Daddy said, beaming. "You have a little sister."

"Oh." Fred bit his lip, his hand finding George's as they drew comfort from one another at this new development. "Is a little sister better than a little brother?"

"Definitely." Bill ruffled the twins' hair. "Little sisters aren't half as annoying. And they don't stink." His blue eyes twinkled.

The twins absorbed this new information, staring at their red-haired little sister.

Quickly making a decision, Fred scrambled up onto the bed, pulling George up behind him. Carefully, he touched the baby's petal-soft cheek.

"Ginny Weasley." He murmured. "I like it."

Mummy and Daddy smiled.

"Well, that's good." Daddy said. "Because so do we."

End


	7. The Weasley Trio

Title: The Weasley Trio

Summary: The position as part of the twin's pranking squad was still open when Ginny began at Hogwarts…

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the idea.

Author's Notes: Kinda depressing for me. Wow…

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The position as part of the twin's pranking squad was still open when Ginny began at Hogwarts, but by then she was so absorbed in her new diary that she didn't want it. All she wanted to do was talk to Tom, all day.

Her grades suffered, but she did well in Potions and Defence Against the Dark Arts. She knew everything that Professor Snape and that prat Lockhart could teach her.

She didn't want to eat, either. She just wasn't hungry anymore. When her teachers began to notice she cast a _glamourie_ over herself so they'd stop bugging her. Their 'concerned' talks took up valuable writing time.

Still, even with Tom reassuring her that nothing was wrong in the school, she knew something was. Why could she hear voices in the walls? Why were there chicken feathers all over her clothes?

These worries and the fact that she couldn't write to Tom every minute of the day had her wandering around the castle, miserable. She appreciated Fred and George's efforts to cheer her up, they even managed to make her smile every once in a while, but soon their faces covered in whatever grotesque affliction they'd decided on, wormed their way into her nightmares, nightmares in which she killed her entire family and laughed a high-pitched, terrible laugh…

It wasn't until New Year's that she wised up to the type of person Tom _really_ was.

She'd been waiting eagerly all day for Mum's cake and her letter. She knew from watching her mother, and later, helping her to bake the cakes, that Mum always baked a cake for special occasions, and sent letters to everyone.

So when the parcel came at lunchtime she was ecstatic. Not only would she get some of Mum's delicious chocolate cake, she'd also have her own PERSONAL message from Mum, all of her own. (One bad thing about having so many brothers at Hogwarts was that Mum just wrote them a joint letter, and by the time she got it, it was so crumpled and stained that she could hardly read the words.)

"Fred, George, here're your messages." Ron said casually, handing the twins identical long letters, no doubt raging at them for their mischief making. "Percy, here's yours. And here's mine."

"What about me?" Ginny asked excitedly. "Where's mine?"

"Oh…" Ron frowned, searching through the paper. "I guess Mum forgot to put it in. Never mind, Gin, I'm sure she didn't mean to. She was probably busy."

"That's alright for _you_ to say." Ginny choked, standing up and knocking over her tea so it sloshed all over the table. "_You_ got a message!" She ran out of the Great Hall.

"What's her problem?" She heard Ron ask as she left.

Once she reached her dorm she grabbed Tom from under her pillow and began writing.

_Tom, oh, I hate them, I hate them all!_

_**Ginny, what's wrong?**_

_Today is New Year, and Mum always sends all of us a message and some cake. And she forgot to send me a letter!_

_**Poor Ginny. Never mind, I'll send you a message.**_

_Thanks, Tom, but it's just not the same. Sometimes I feel like I could just kill them! Then I could have Mum and Dad all to myself._

_**Well…why don't you?**_

_Why don't I what?_

_**Kill them.**_

Ginny stared at the written words in horror. She might _say_ she'd like to kill her brothers, but she didn't mean it!

Slamming the book shut, she jumped up. She had to get rid of it. Tom wasn't who she thought he was. NO ONE would bluntly suggest killing their friend's siblings. No one!

Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. The perfect place.

But when she'd seen Harry with the diary on Valentine's Day she'd been horror-struck. What if Tom, out of spite for her not writing to him anymore, told Harry of his crush on her! That was the reason she'd gone white, not that stupid Singing Valentine. She'd known Fred and George were going to send that, and had purposely made up a very silly rhyme for them to use. She hated the embarrassment on Harry's face, though, at having to listen to such rubbish. And Malfoy's malevolent comment had only made things worse.

Still, she was glad he'd been there that day, otherwise she wouldn't have found out about the diary being in Harry's possession.

As soon as she could, Ginny searched Harry's things for it. The temptation to linger was strong, but she needed to get rid of Tom, and fast!

The temptation to talk to Tom again, however, had been too hard to resist.

He'd grown stronger though, and some of the things he said terrified her.

However, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't tear herself away again. Tom had his hooks into her good and proper.

No one noticed, not even her brothers or Hermione, reputedly the smartest witch in the school. And Dumbledore was gone, now, so he couldn't help her.

She had no _friends_ to turn to for help, after all, her entire life this year had been to write to Tom.

In desperation, she tried talking to Harry. _He_ would know what to do. Then Percy intervened, and she ran for the twins.

But even they were too busy for her, planning a new prank to play on one of the kids in the DADA class.

So she'd struggled alone, her best friend how her worst nightmare.

Lying in the Chamber of Secrets, feeling her life being drained away by Tom, all cried out, without the strength to beg for her life, she'd been grateful that at least no one would realise how stupid she'd been. At least her family wouldn't remember her as a monster.

----------------------------

Fred and George had meant it when they offered Ginny a chance to be a part of their pranking team. The Weasley Duo, as they thought of themselves. She was intelligent and had an interesting outlook on life.

When Ron crossed them they may have turned his teddy into a spider, but _Ginny_ not only got revenge when he pulled the head off her doll by ripping the legs off his stuffed dragon, she also managed to get _Ron_ into trouble for it. They wanted that kind of innovation on _their_ side.

But Ginny didn't seem interested. They'd shrugged their shoulders and let her and her diary be, hoping she wouldn't turn into another uptight Percy. She was a big girl; she could take care of herself.

They changed their minds when she lay in the Chamber of Secrets. Percy was beside himself, but he'd been that way ever since Hermione was petrified for some reason. Ron was nowhere to be found, nor was Harry.

And Ginny…their ickle Gin-kin, their baby sister…she was in the Chamber of Secrets, dead or dying.

George, calm, sensible George, the more pragmatic and even-tempered of the two, had punched a wall repeatedly, smashing his knuckles to pieces, sharp white bone poking through livid skin.

Fred hadn't even been able to stand up, and both boys had to be dragged down to the Hospital Wing where Madam Pomfrey clucked over them worriedly.

So close they were almost one person, both boys had the same image in their mind. Their frail, freckled little sister spread-eagled in muck, her vibrant hair the only thing with colour and the semblance of life left, eyelashes lying against bruised cheeks.

They couldn't believe their eyes when a miserable, dirty little imp arrived in the Hospital Wing and, through hiccupping sobs, told Madam Pomfrey Professor Dumbledore said she should have a cup of hot chocolate.

Without even thinking about it they'd jumped up and fallen in a tangle of limbs, eliciting a small, quavering smile from their sister.

"Gin-kin!" George cried.

"You're all right!" Fred finished.

The pair hugged and kissed and petted the eleven-year-old until her cheeks were quite flushed from being between them with their combined body heat. She'd cuddled into them willingly, sipping her hot chocolate while Pomfrey fussed over George's hand, since he'd somehow managed to break all the knuckles again in the ensuing rush to reach Ginny.

"I did a t-t-t-terrible thing!" Ginny wailed. "I was the one who was d-d-d-doing all those things t-t-t-t-to the Muggle-borns! I p-p-p-petrified Hermione!"

"Well…" George said, stroking Ginny's filthy hair, "did you want to?"

"No! Of course not! I like the li'l Muggle-borns! You-Know-Who was c-c-c-controlling me through my d-d-diary!"

"There you go!" Fred said with false-cheerfulness. "Not your fault then." He exchanged a worried look with George. She was so upset. He'd never seen Her Royal Chatteriness like this before.

"B-but none of you c-c-care about me!"

"Gin-kin, what makes you think that?" Both twins chorused.

"I d-d-didn't get a letter!"

"At New Year?" Fred asked. "Yes you did. It was just stuck to Ron's. I guess he forgot to give it to you. I can tell you the extent of what it said, though." He coughed importantly, and put on a high-pitched voice. "_'Ginny, dear, I hope you're enjoying Hogwarts. We miss you very much. Happy New Year, and keep up the good work in Potions and Defence Against the Dark Arts. Love, Mum and Dad.'_"

Ginny hiccupped and giggled at the same time.

"You know," George said, "we still need a third member of the Weasley Family to make us the Weasley Trio instead of the Duo."

"You know what they say. Two's company, three's a pranking team." Fred agreed.

Ginny lifted her head to look at them. "Really? You mean it?"

"'Course we do, Gin-kin." Fred poked her in the nose.

"We wouldn't have said it if we didn't." George added, smiling in relief as Ginny smiled back.

End


	8. The Calm After The Storm

_**WARNING!!! THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS DEADLY HALLOWS SPOILERS! IF YOU HAVE NOT READ DEADLY HALLOWS AND YOU READ THIS STORY, DO NOT COME COMPLAINING TO ME!**_

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Title: The Calm After The Storm

Summary: DH Spoilers. Last in the Red Haired Trio series. The war is over, and Fred is gone. How do Ginny and George cope without him?

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the idea.

Author's Notes: It is with a heavy heart that I close the book on this series. I loved writing them, loved the insight it gave me into three of my favourite characters. When Fred died I was devastated, and I couldn't imagine how I was going to address that. But I knew I had to, knew that the series wouldn't be complete without this last story. I just want to thank all my reviewers, and thank my pre-beta, and Ladybug. They've helped me so much.

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The war was over, and most people moved on. The people who died became icons, and those who had fought were pestered for information regarding the final battle.

For Ginny, it was a confusing time of funerals, wakes, and long speeches that she couldn't quite focus on. She spent a lot of time with Harry, talking about nothing in particular, and just letting the world pass them by.

It wasn't until the night after Fred's funeral that something occurred to her.

Her brother was gone. Fred, _her_ Fred, who had kissed her skinned knees better and hugged her after her nightmares, was gone. He'd never call her Gin-kin again, never make her laugh with a silly joke … he was gone. The Weasley Trio … they'd never pull a prank together again …

The sheer magnitude of that thought had her gasping for air, had the panic that she'd kept at bay through pure bloody-mindedness threatening to overwhelm her. She pulled her knees up to her chest and wailed into them, scalding tears soaking her nightdress and running down freckled thighs.

"Nooo …" she moaned, biting on her lower lip to keep screams of grief from waking her parents. "Oh Merlin … why, Fred? Why?"

Her door creaked open, and a long figure snuck in. For a moment, one heart-rending moment, she thought it was all a dream, and Fred was still here. Then, a moonbeam caught the shadows of his face, and she saw that it was George.

"Gin-kin?" He climbed up onto the bed with her. "Are you all right? What's wrong?"

"He's gone, oh Merlin, he's gone and, George, I don't know what to do! How am I supposed to live without him?" she sobbed. "He was my knight and you were my dragon, and now I've got no one to save me."

"You have a different knight now, Gin, remember?" George told her gently, pulling her into his arms.

She buried her face in the crook of his neck, and he smelled like Fred, but not. Instead of burned curtains it was the smell of potions ingredients, because George was better at Potions, just like Fred was better at Charms. But it hadn't mattered because they always helped one another and got exactly the same grades in everything. But who would help George now?

She gave another wail, and clung to him. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," she blubbered. "How are we supposed to live without him? I don't want another knight; I want Fred! I love Harry, but why can't I still have Fred too?"

"You do, Gin-kin." George pulled away and smiled, even though the tears ran down his cheeks at the thought of his twin, his other half. He more than anyone knew what Ginny was going through. Fred was his soul, and now it was broken. "He's my twin, remember? And those we love never really leave us, they're always in here." He pressed a hand to his heart. "One day we'll meet again at King's Cross, and we'll all hop on the train together and have a grand time. But for now, Fred wouldn't want us to cry, he wouldn't want us to despair. He liked us to be happy."

"I know," Ginny sniffed, scrubbing at the tears on her flushed cheeks, the pain making her want to howl. But she struggled to stop for George's sake, he felt just as bad as she did, if not more so. "I know he liked to make us laugh."

"And you have some of him in you, too, you know," George continued softly, his blue eyes twinkling. "Your stubbornness, your ability to dream, they all come from Fred. While you live, and while I live, he'll never really die."

The youngest Weasley hiccoughed softly, brown eyes searching her older brother's face, checking for any hint of doubt. "Do I really?"

"Yes. C'mere." George wrapped his arm around her, and pulled them both down on the bed so Ginny's head was cuddled in the crook of his shoulder, and his was pillowed on hers. She felt him kiss her hair, and she sighed softly, loving how safe she felt. "Do you remember when we taught you how to fight?"

Ginny nodded. "You spent all day letting me beat you up."

"We did. And do you remember the time you ate the pie Mum left on the sill and you were sick?"

"Fred found the potion to cure an upset tummy and you made it. Mum never found out, she thought the chickens had got into it."

"Remember when you pranked us because we broke your doll?"

"Uh huh," she quavered, tears sliding down her face. But these weren't painful tears, they were sad, yes, but not painful. The storm had passed, and these tears were ones of relief, as she remembered the good times with George.

The pair talked well into the night, eventually falling asleep in one another's arms, drawing comfort from each other, from the fact that they weren't alone.

And Harry, when he peeked in the next morning, could find no reason to be jealous of the fact that Ginny had shared her tears with her brother, instead of with him.

And Molly Weasley felt a tear of understanding, and of relief, trail down her cheek when she saw how tightly the pair clung to one another, even in sleep. She saw the flush of their cheeks, and knew that they'd cried. And she knew that while her Fred was gone, and poor George no longer had his twin, he would never be alone.

And for that, she was very thankful. 

The End


End file.
